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I have a question about the etiquette of hiring babysitters. Do I need to write to one person and wait for their response before writing to another, or is it acceptable to ask several people at once and hire whoever responds first? When I do it the first way, which seems more polite, I often end up waiting so long that other babysitters aren’t available by the time I get the first reply.
Signed,
How to Hire
Dear Hire,
I am so happy for you that you have a broad enough roster of potential babysitters that this is even a question! Finding responsible, reliable people that you and your children feel comfortable with is no easy feat, and you want to keep them feeling respected and valued so that you continue to have them to call on.
Asking babysitters one at a time is an overall better route if the timing makes it possible. The more lead time you can give someone to answer, the better. So if you ask someone two weeks in advance, even if they take two days to reply, you still probably have enough time to find someone else. Assuming this is happening via text, you could always add something like, “If I don’t hear from you by this time tomorrow, I may ask someone else, so let me know if you’re available.”
Of course, you don’t always have two weeks notice for needing a babysitter. If you have to find someone in under a week, texting a few people, “I was wondering if you’re available to babysit Saturday night. Because it’s coming up soon, I have a few asks out there.” If someone replies after you’ve hired someone, you can say, “Thanks but I already have someone lined up for this time but I’ll reach out another time.”
You don’t have to hire the first person that replies, but once you make an agreement with one person, even if a preferred babysitter responds later on, don’t go back on the one you’ve already hired. And just like you may have multiple asks out to multiple babysitters, an in-demand babysitter may have multiple offers on the same night, and waiting to respond may also mean that you lose out on their availability.
Along with keeping a roster of sitters, you may also want to keep tabs on who is most likely to be available when, who gets back to you the fastest, and any other notes that will help you plan. As your kids get older, they will likely start to express strong preferences about sitters, and it’s important to keep those in mind when hiring, since that’s at least as important as availability.
Be well,
Miriam
